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CU-Boulder aims to double rate of alumni giving by 2016

University falls well below average of Pac-12 schools

By Brittany Anas Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
10/19/2012 08:56:58 PM MDT

Updated:
10/19/2012 08:58:13 PM MDT

University of Southern California fans at a tailgate party before the USC Trojans vs. Hawaii Warriors game Sept. 1 in Los Angeles. USC -- whose team plays the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday -- ranks the highest in the Pac-12 for alumni giving, with a rate of 39 percent.
(Kevin Reece/AP)

The University of Colorado plans to more aggressively court donations from its graduates, as only 8 percent of alumni are donors to the school -- a figure far below the alumni-giving rate at other universities in the Pac-12.

Chancellor Phil DiStefano said that on average at Pac-12 schools, 15 percent of alumni give back to their universities. The numbers factor into university rankings, such as those published by U.S. News and World Report.

DiStefano said that by fiscal year 2016, he wants to double the CU-Boulder alumni giving rate to 16 percent.

To that end, the Alumni Association on the Boulder campus is working to better engage its graduates, said Tori Peglar, associate director of communications and marketing for the association.

This year, the Alumni Association is better marketing homecoming weekend and adding events for alumni returning to Boulder -- including "Classes without Quizzes," where graduates can audit courses and take a tour of some of the new buildings on campus, Peglar said.

So far, nearly 500 alumni have registered for the "Back to Boulder" weekend Nov. 1-3 that coincides with the homecoming game against Stanford University.

About two years ago, CU's Career Services Office added an alumni career counselor to work with graduates who are looking for jobs or career changes, which is another example of how the campus is trying to stay connected with its graduates.

"We know that alumni who are engaged tend to give more," Peglar said.

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Ranking the highest in the Pac-12 for alumni giving is the University of Southern California, with a rate of 39 percent, and Stanford, with a rate of 34 percent, according to Peglar. The University of Arizona and Arizona State University rank lower than CU.

CU officials say athletics often can be a path for the university to reach out to alumni-donors because it's a way they stay connected. According to numbers the Alumni Association pulled, there are 36,000 CU alumni living in the Pac-12 states, compared to 11,000 in states from CU's previous league.

Michael Leeds, an annual donor -- whose family gave a $35 million gift to the business school in 2001 -- said it's in the best interest of alumni to give to the school.

"We all have degrees from the University of Colorado, and the better the school is, the more valuable our degrees," he said.

Michael Imhoff and his wife, Patty, have been longtime donors to CU, where they met as undergraduates in the mid-1980s.

"We're very passionate about giving to CU," said Imhoff, a managing director for a Colorado brokerage and investment banking firm. "CU is a big part of what has allowed us to have opportunities in life."

Donors like the Imhoffs see the value of investing in the school, especially as state funding drops. Now, 4.6 percent of CU-Boulder's $1.3 billion budget comes from the state.

The Imhoffs donate to the athletic department, a student-scholarship program in the College of Arts and Sciences and to the business school.

"The quality of educators and leadership at the university is terrific, and unless we keep supporting them, there's competition for them elsewhere," he said. "That's an important aspect of the fundraising side."

Last fiscal year, CU raised $228.6 million in donations, an increase of 7 percent over the previous year and an all-time record. The university is in the midst of a $1.5 billion fundraising campaign and has raised more than 80 percent of that goal.

The university recently contracted with a philanthropic consulting firm for $380,000 to work with the CU Foundation to explore how to bring in even more money.

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